McLaren's Title Ambitions Still Alive, Insists Norris

Lando Norris remains optimistic about McLaren's chances of defending their world titles despite a slow start to the season. The reigning champion believes the team can still "push hard" to bridge the gap with Mercedes and Ferrari. Norris trails early championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 47 points but is confident that the team can turn their situation around. "I think we can have a good season, even if we're not where we want to be right now," Norris said. "We still want to push hard for the championship; this isn't a case of giving up and focusing on next year." Norris cited previous examples where the team has overcome slow starts to finish the season strongly. The British driver emphasized the importance of addressing the reliability issues that have affected their car and Mercedes power unit. Team-mate Oscar Piastri also expressed confidence in the team's ability to get back into regular victory contention over the remaining 19 races. "We have a lot of work to do to be back at the front consistently, but closing the gap to Mercedes and out-developing the field is something that's within our control," Piastri said. The Australian driver has complete trust in the team's ability to turn things around and is excited to see what they can achieve.